The Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey League was but a pipe dream in February 2022 when the urgency needed to address a fractured sport with unrealized potential.
鈥淲e need to push for visibility,鈥� Coyne Schofield said then, choking back tears after the United States鈥� 3-2 gold-medal loss to Canada at the Beijing Winter Games. 鈥淲e need to continue to fight for women鈥檚 hockey because (the status quo) is not good enough. It can鈥檛 end after the
Four years later, the women鈥檚 pro hockey landscape has undergone a seismic shift following . The league鈥檚 presence and expanding success validates Coyne Schofield鈥檚 vision as the PWHL prepares for its international coming-out party at the Milan Cortina Games.
鈥淚 look at the growth of the women鈥檚 game, even from my first Olympics in 2014, and it鈥檚 been exponential,鈥� said the 33-year-old captain of the two-time Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost.
鈥淭o be a small part of that growth and just to live through that growth has been one of the greatest things I鈥檝e been able to be a part of,鈥� she added, in having played a key behind-the-scenes role in the league鈥檚 formation. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 excited to see what happens after these Games.鈥�
The PWHL is banking on it. The eight-team league, financially backed by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, is placing a major emphasis on marketing the PWHL through advertising spots during the two-week women鈥檚 tournament opening on Thursday.
The PWHL is well represented with 61 players among the 10 competing nations’ rosters, and most notably filling out and .
Attracting viewers
The objective is twofold: Introducing PWHL fans to the elite level of Olympic play and luring casual viewers tuning in once every four years to the PWHL.
鈥淧revious years, everybody falls in love with the Olympics. They hear stories about players, we have huge viewership numbers, and then it鈥檚 sort of like 鈥榃hat now?鈥欌�� Hockey Hall of Famer and PWHL executive vice president Jayna Hefford said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big opportunity to educate, direct back and make sure they know where they can find the players.鈥�
Though much is being made of NHL players competing at the Olympics for the first time since 2014, these Games mark the debut of true professional women鈥檚 hockey players.
Their sport has gone through many iterations of so-called pro leagues, many in name only. Canadian Women鈥檚 Hockey League players weren鈥檛 paid a salary. A majority of the game鈥檚 elite in the National Women鈥檚 Hockey League, which later became the Premier Hockey Federation before being bought out to pave way for the PWHL.
Three seasons of growth
The Olympics serve as the next launching point of growth for a league that began with six franchises and now has eight spanning the continent from Boston to the Pacific Northwest. More expansion is on the horizon, with the PWHL set to add up to four more teams next season.
Attendance is up. After soaring past the 1 million mark in just under two seasons in March, the PWHL has already surpassed 500,000 fans alone nearing the halfway point of its third season.
Challenges remain. Though every game is available on TV in each U.S. team’s market, and across America and much of the globe via YouTube, the PWHL lacks a national broadcaster in the U.S.
International growth
The PWHL also lags in international talent in its attempt to market itself as the world鈥檚 top league. Only 25 of the league’s 200-plus players this season come from outside North America. They include New York Sirens forward Krystyna Kaltounkova, who is from the Czech Republic and in June became the .
Hefford is confident expansion, coupled with an Olympic tournament featuring PWHL stars, will be a vehicle to attract more international players. League executive Stan Kasten previously said the PWHL is eying playing exhibition games in Europe and one day establishing teams there.
鈥淓urope is a big part of our future,鈥� .
Boston Fleet forward and veteran Swiss national team player Alina Muller said she believes the PWHL鈥檚 growth and stability will gradually lure more international players. Europeans who came to North America to play collegiately before returning home now they have a league to further their careers.
鈥淣ow being able to watch our games and think, 鈥榊eah, I want to end up playing professionally,鈥� will change the attitude toward the sport completely,鈥� said Muller, who played college hockey at Northeastern. 鈥淗opefully in Europe people see that it鈥檚 worth the investment, and it鈥檚 not just a side gig or charity.”
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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed.
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AP women鈥檚 hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
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